Automatic gas



(No Model.)

J. M. PALMER. AUTOMATIC GAS REGULATOR.

N4 PETKRS, Fhulo-Lilhogmbhun Wn'ihinglen. IIC` ilnrrnn @autres Parentraton.

JAMES M. PALMER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATEC GAS-#REGULATOR SPECIFICATION forming part ci Letters PatentNo. 344,131, dated June 22, 1886.

Application led September 10, 1885. Renewed May 3, 1886. Serial No.201,023. (Nomodcld To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES M. PALMER, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented acertain new and VusefulImprovement in Automatic Gas-Regulators, of which the following is adescription sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable any personskilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to makeand use the same, refcrence`being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part of this specification, in which- Figure lis a verticalsection of my imp roved regulator, and Fig. 2 a plan view of the valvedetached.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the differentfigures ofthe draw ings.

My invention relates to that class of automatic gas-regulators which areprovided with floats and valves; and it consists in a novel constructionand arrangement ofthe parts, as hereinafter more fully set forth andclaimed, by which a more effective device of this char- U acter isproduced than is now in ordinary use.

The nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understoodby all conversant with suchmatters from the following` eXplanation.

In the drawings, A represents the body,and B the float. The body, whichis hollow and preferably composed oi' sheet metal, is round inhorizontal section, but may be square, hexagonal, or of any othersuitable form. Itis provided with a cover, C, which'is not ttedair-tight, and its bottom d is downwardly-inclined from the periphery tothe center; but the bottom maybe arranged horizontally, or at any othersuitable angle to the sides, if desired. A centrallyarranged tube, E,projects from the bottom d, its upper end openinginto the body A, andits lower end-being bent inwardly, as shown at at, and secured to abushing, E, which is screwed into the upper end of a pipe, G. The tube Emay, however, be connected directly with the pipe G, if preferred, orotherwise suitably supported and the bent portion as omitted.

The body of the float B is preferably con1- posed of sheet metal, and isso constructed as to conform approximately in its shape with the shapeof the body A, in which it is disposed, but is ofcourse less in size, aspace, m, being left between the walls of the float and the walls of thebody A, for the reception of glycerine f, or any other suitable liquid.

The bottom t of the float is downwardly inclined from its periphery toits center, its top r being correspondingly inclined, or arranged inparallelism therewith; but the top and bottoni may be arrangedhorizontally, or at any other suitable angle to the bottoni. The ioat isalso provided with an auxiliary top, z, which is preferably conical inform,or inclined upwardly from its periphery to its center, theauxiliary top being connected by an air-tight joint to the walls of thefloat to forni the gas-chaniber H.

Disposed at the center of the float there is a vertically-arranged tube,J, connected `by airtight joints with the top rand bottom t. This tubeis open at both ends, its upper end being flush with the top r, and itslower end elongated or extended below the bottomt into the tube E, asshown at i. A tube, K, is arranged vertically within the tube J, itslower end being screwed into the bushing F and opening into the pipe G,and its upper vend extending above the top r of the float B and openinginto the chamber H. A conical valve, D, provided with a valve stem orrod, 7L, is tted to a valveseat, b, formed at the lower end of the pipeG, the stem extend ing upwardly through the tube K, and being screwedinto an inverted thimble, L, arranged vertically at the center of theauXiliary top, e, ofthe float B, said thinible being` connected by anair-tight joint to said top and provided with a flaring mouth, a, toenable 'the stein to be readily inserted therein. A pipe, M, is screwedonto the lower end ofthe pipe G, and attached to the lower end of thepipe M there is a tank or receiver, N. This tankniay, however, be formedintegral with the pipe M, if desired, and provided with a suitableopening, and plug or cap for closing said opening, thereby enabling itscontents to be drawn olf. Thepipe M is provided with an induction orbranch pipe, j, which is connected with the gasmetcr O by the pipe Z,coupling 22, and union-coupling 23. The pipe G is provided with aninduction or branch fi oc e I l 344,131

pipe; k, and eduction or branch pipe a. A tank or reservoir, P, forcontaining naphtha, alcohol, benzine, or some other solvent of coaltar,and provided with a capped filling-tube, 28, and stop-cock Q, isconnected with the pipe 7c by means of the coupling 24 and small pipe25. The stop-cock may, however, be placed in the pipe 25, if preferred,or located in any suitable position between the tank and pipe G. A maineduction-pipe, R, is connected to the pipe a by a T-coupling, S, andattached to said last-named coupling there is a receiver or drip-cup,W,for catching the coal-tar which forms in the pipe R and its connectedpipes, and preventing it from entering the pipe G.

In regulators of this character as heretofore constructed muchdifficulty has been experienced on account of the valves becomingclogged with coal-tar, and thereby prevented from working properly. Thevalves have also been made and arranged in such a manner as to closetightly, and thus shut off the entire supply of gas from the burnerswhenever a sudden increase occurs in the pressure.

The method of `constructing and arranging the floats in some regulatorsof this class is also objectionable, the pressure of the gas beingdepended upon to raise the floats and close the valves, and hence theyare less sensitive than they should be to attain the best results.

My invention is designed to obviate these and other objections; and tothat end I make use, first, of means for introducing a solvent for thecoal-tar directly to the valve and valveseat without shutting off thegas, detaching the regulator from the meter or taking it apart;secondly, I provide the valve with a groove or grooves, @,fso that whenit is closed sufficient gas will pass it to prevent the lights frombeing entirely extinguished; and, thirdly, I provide the float with aclosed air-chamber, 40, and an open gas-chamber, H, the air-chamberbeing of such size as to support or balance the float and itsappendages, thereby rendering it very sensitive, or easily affected byth pressure of the gas.

In the use of-my improvement the body A is first partially filled withglycerine f, the glycerine lling the tube E and rising around the tube Kwithin the tube J, as shown, a sufficient quantity of glycerine beingemployed to prevent the bottom tof the float from coming into contactwith the bottom d of the body when the gas is not turned on. The floatis then raised by the thimble L until the valve D is wedged into itsseat to prevent it from turning, and the thimble and float turned to theright or left, as the case may be, to screw the valve-stem into orunscrew it from the thimble, and thereby adjust the valve. When thevalveis properly adj usted, the tank P is filled with alcohol, or the solventof coaltar to be used, and the gas turned on through the meter O. As thegas passes through the regulator it will enter the chamber II and actupon the float B in such a manner as to close or open the valve D, inaccordance with the the pressure is so great as to close the valveentirely, a sufficient quantity of gas will pass through the grooves cto prevent the burners from being fully extinguished until the valve canbe lowered or adjusted to afford an additional supply. If the valve Dbecomes clogged or coated with coal-tar to such an extent as to workimperfectly, the stop-cock of the tank P is opened, and a small quantityof the solvent contained in said tank permitted to flow into theregulator through the opening 5, where it will be discharged onto thevalve and its seat, and rapidly cleanse them by dissolving the tar, thesolvent and dissolved tar passing the valve and falling into thereceiver N, from which it may be readily removed whenever desired bytaking off the receiver.

In order to prevent the solvent from getting into the meter after itpasses the valve, I provide the pipe M with a guard ordownwardlyprojecting flange, 30, and enlarge said pipe at Y 32, as shownin Fig. l, so that when the solvent passes down the pipe M over theguard it will fall onto or be caught by the enlarged portion 32 of thepipe and directed into the receiver N.

The object of extending the tube K above the top r of the iioat is toprevent the glycerine from entering said tube, should it overliow oraccidentally find its way into the gas-chaluber H; and the object ofinclining the top r, as shown, is to enable the glycerine to be pouredfrom said chamber readily. It will be obvious, however, that in case theglycerine should enter said tube it will pass through the valve and becaught in the receiver N.

The pipes M G form a case for the valve D; but they may be madeintegral, i1' desired, or constructed in any other suitable manner toperform the same functions. Itis, however, preferable to make them asshown, for convenience in inserting the valve and taking the regulatorapart, and also for connecting it with the meter and main eduction-pipe.

I do not confine myself to using the tank or reservoir P or pipe 25, asthe solvent may be poured through the opening 5 in the pipe G by meansof a can or other suitable means, said opening being plugged orotherwise properly closed after the solvent has been introduced. Whenthe tank P and pipe 25 are dispensed with, the pipe k may be used 'forpassing the solventinto the regulator through the opening 5, and a cap,plug, or stop-cock employed to close said pipe. I however deem itpreferable to employ the tank, as the valve may then be cleansed withoutshutting off the gas at the meter. Neither do I confine myself to theuse of' the receiver N, as the solvent may be allowed kto pass out ofthe regulator through the opening 7 in the pipe M, said opening beingplugged or properly closed after the valve is cleansed; nor to providingthe iioat with an air-chamber; nor

to the use of the receiver W; nor to making the valve with the groove c;nor to extending the tube K above the top r, although I deem each ofthese features of importance.

Having thus explained my invention, what I claim is- 1. In agas-regulator of the character described, and having an inductiompipe,an eductionvpipe, a suitable valve-case, and a valve-seat, thecombination of the following instrumentalities, to Wit: a body, a iioat,and a valve connected with said iioat and adapted to be operated by thepressure of the gas to regulate or equalize the supply of gas to theburners, said regulator being provided with an opening for theintroduction of alcohol, naphtha, or other solvent of coal-tar tocleanse the valve, and with a stop-cock or means for closing saidopening, substantially as described. 2. A gas-regulator ofthe characterdescribed, having an induction and eduction pipe, a valve-case, avalveseat, a body, a float, a valve connected with said float andadapted to be operated automatically by the pressure of the gas, anopening or pipe for the introduction of a solvent of coal-tar to ,theValve, and a stopcock or means for closing said opening or pipe, incombination With a tank or reservoir for containing alcohol, naphtha, orother solvent of coal-tar, and with a pipe for conducting the solventfrom said tank into the regulator, substantially as set forth.

3. In a gas-regulator of the character described, the tank I andstop-cock Q, in combination with the pipe G, valve D, and a pipeconnecting said tank with the pipe G, substantially as described.

4. A gas-regulator having a valve adapted 4o to be operatedautomatically by the pressure of the gas, and provided with means, asshown, for introducing a solvent for coal-tar into the Valvecase tocleanse the valve, substantially as described.

5. In a gasregulator of the character described, the thimble L, incombination with the oat B, stem 7L, and valve D, substantially asdescribed.

6. In a gasregulator of the character described, the body A, providedwith the cover C and tube E, and the valve D, provided with thestem h,in combination with the pipe G, provided with the tube II, and iloat I3,-pron vided with the tube J, an airchaniber, a gaseliamber, and thethiinble L, or means for adp justing'said valve, substantially as setforth.

7.. In a gas-regulator of the character described, the receiver N, forreceiving the dissolved gas-tar, in combination With the valve D, and apipe for conducting the gas from the meter to said valve, said regulatorbeing provided with an opening for introducing a solvent for gas-tar tosaid valve, and 'means for closing said opening, substantiallyT as described.-

8. In a gas-regulator of the character described, the pipe G, providedwith the pipe a and opening 5, in combination with the valve D and pipeM, provided with the opening 7, and pipej, substantially as set forth.

9. The improved gas-regulator herein described, the same consisti ng ofthe pipes G M, tank I), pipe 25, stop-cock Q, valve D, stem h, body A,float B, tubes K E, and receiver N, constructed, combined, and arrangedto oper- 75 ate substantially as described.

JAMES M. PALMER.

Vi tnesses:

G. A. SHAW, THOMAS A. TALLON.

